Churches: Repairs and Maintenance

David Drew: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what recent discussions the Church Commissioners have had with HM Treasury on funding for the repair and upkeep of church buildings; and if he will make a statement.

Stuart Bell: Representatives of the Church of England have had constructive discussions with Ministers and officials from the Treasury, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Office of the Third Sector and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. These interdepartmental discussions are ongoing and I would hope to be able to report the outcome before the Christmas recess.
	By way of a statement, the overall aim is to examine the contribution made by church buildings of all faiths to the agendas of Departments and to identify available funding from national, regional and local government sources. From there, the working group is looking at ways of ensuring that these funding streams are fully accessible to churches.

Warm Front Scheme

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether those living in residential park homes may be eligible to participate in the Warm Front scheme.

Joan Ruddock: I have been asked to reply.
	Those residing in Park Homes are not disqualified from receiving assistance through the scheme and are subject to the same entry criteria as all applicants. However, many Park Homes can prove 'hard to treat' and may not be suitable for some of the measures currently available under Warm Front.
	However, Warm Front has developed mechanisms for assessing new technologies that could be brought onto the scheme and is currently reviewing alternative heating and insulation measures which could provide potential future solutions for Park Home properties.

Climate Change

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress has been made on the Gleneagles Plan of Action on climate change to exploit cleaner technologies, promote energy efficiency and invest in clean technologies in emerging economies.

Joan Ruddock: The International Energy Agency (IEA) undertook three years of detailed work under the Gleneagles Plan of Action funded by G8 members. The Agency's report of the main conclusions can be found on its website. On energy efficiency, the IEA has completed an exhaustive analysis of the global potential for improvements in energy efficiency and the action that needs to be taken to realise that potential. This analysis culminated in 25 recommendations made by the IEA to the leaders of the G8 for improving global energy efficiency covering action on buildings, appliances, lighting, transport, industry, energy utilities and cross-cutting policies and which, by 2030, could reduce global demand for oil by 15 per cent., by 2030 and energy-related CO2 emissions by almost 20 per cent., G8 leaders at the Hokkaido summit in Japan in July accepted the IEA's conclusions, which also included:
	The leaders of the G8, China, India and South Korea agreeing to establish an International Partnership on Energy Efficiency.
	A commitment to strongly support the launching of 20 large-scale Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) demonstration projects globally by 2010 with a view to beginning broad deployment of CCS by 2020.
	A commitment to develop road maps for innovative clean technologies and to co-operate through existing and new partnerships.
	A commitment to promote the continued development and commercialisation of renewable energy, including through the launch of a Global Bioenergy Partnership.
	In terms of work on encouraging investment in clean technologies in emerging economies, the World Bank and other multilateral development banks (MDBs) have been invited to increase dialogue with borrowers on energy issues and put forward specific proposals at their annual meetings to:
	(a ) make the best use of existing resources and financing instruments and develop a framework for energy investment to accelerate the adoption of technologies which enable cleaner, more efficient energy production and use.
	(b) explore opportunities within their existing and new lending portfolios to increase the volume of investments made on renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies consistent with the MDBs' core mission of poverty reduction.
	(c) work with interested borrower countries with significant energy requirements to identify less greenhouse gas intensive growth options which meet their priorities; and ensure that such options are integrated into Country Assistance Strategies.
	(d) develop local commercial capacity to develop and finance cost-effective projects that promote energy efficiency and low-carbon energy sources.

Inter-departmental Analysts Group

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps the Inter-departmental Analysts Group  (a) has undertaken and  (b) plans to undertake on climate change and the low carbon economy; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: The Interdepartmental Analysts Group is revising its guidance to ensure that the policies needed to achieve cuts in emissions are evaluated and appraised in a consistent manner. The Group is undertaking evaluation and appraisal of emissions reduction policies beyond those contained in the 2007 Energy White Paper, that will be needed to achieve further cuts in emissions.

Lancaster Farms Young Offender Institute

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has received representations from the Governor of Her Majesty's Young Offender Institute, Lancaster Farms on late drop offs from court; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: No representations have been made to me by the Governor of Her Majesty's Young Offenders Institute, Lancaster Farms, about the late arrival of young prisoners from court. Data provided by the escort contractor indicates that of 863 young prisoners escorted to HMYOI Lancaster Farms from courts between 1 April 2008 and 30 September 2008, 88 per cent. arrived before 1900 hours and only six arrived after 2000 hours.

Repossession Orders

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many house repossessions were laid before the courts in each month in each of the last three years, broken down by  (a) constituency and  (b) region; and how many of these were approved by the court.

Bridget Prentice: The following tables show the number of mortgage and landlord possession claims issued, suspended orders and outright orders made in the county courts of England and Wales, broken down by Her Majesty Court Service region, since 2005.
	The data is not currently available by constituency.
	Court level statistics on mortgage and landlord repossession actions from 1987 to 2007 are available on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/mortgateland lordpossession.htm
	These figures do not indicate how many houses have been repossessed through the courts, since not all the orders will have resulted in the issue and execution of warrants of possession.
	The civil procedure rules state that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. As county courts' jurisdictions are not coterminous with the borough boundaries, any single Court's repossession actions are likely to relate to homes in a number of different boroughs.
	
		
			  Table l: Mortgage possession claims issued in the county courts of England and Wales, broken down by region, 2005-07 
			   London  Midlands  North East  North West  South East  South West  Wales 
			 January 2005 1,325 1,391 1,016 1,045 1,564 786 436 
			 February 2005 1,697 1,632 1,014 1,131 1,975 778 506 
			 March 2005 1,717 1,661 1,324 1,132 2,144 856 579 
			 April 2005 1,688 1,731 1,318 1,280 2,044 990 559 
			 May 2005 1,532 1,410 1,066 1,065 1,815 806 461 
			 June 2005 2,002 1,943 1,372 1,366 2,218 1,037 610 
			 July 2005 2,002 1,821 1,470 1,376 2,266 1,073 512 
			 August 2005 1,865 1,890 1,515 1,334 2,171 901 566 
			 September 2005 1,633 1,598 1,291 1,250 1,924 894 519 
			 October 2005 1,864 1,977 1,462 1,434 2,193 963 549 
			 November 2005 2,077 2,106 1,604 1,702 2,366 1,107 674 
			 December 2005 1,683 1,630 1,171 1,146 1,872 793 498 
			 January 2006 1,717 1,821 1,416 1,475 2,098 964 624 
			 February 2006 1,670 2,005 1,485 1,429 2,057 991 653 
			 March 2006 2,100 2,563 1,763 1,826 2,601 1,174 814 
			 April 2006 1,761 1,768 1,330 1,436 1,938 916 580 
			 May 2006 1,783 1,925 1,579 1,421 1,953 916 627 
			 June 2006 1,982 2,545 1,917 1,893 2,684 1,216 819 
			 July 2006 2,135 2,089 1,737 1,782 2,344 1,049 766 
			 August 2006 2,011 2,267 1,674 1,631 2,215 1,195 799 
			 September 2006 1,618 2,072 1,618 1,731 2,044 992 690 
			 October 2006 2,014 2,249 1,682 1,804 2,332 1,045 701 
			 November 2006 1,734 2,111 1,624 1,722 2,027 1,016 676 
			 December 2006 1,339 1,506 1,216 1,055 1,546 668 458 
			 January 2007 1,801 2,297 1,771 1,708 2,261 1,052 743 
			 February 2007 1,761 2,096 1,658 1,672 2,037 974 658 
			 March 2007 1,908 2,312 1,948 1,951 2,251 1,085 841 
			 April 2007 1,454 1,880 1,592 1,486 1,848 876 651 
			 May 2007 1,810 2,164 1,902 1,902 2,294 1,031 757 
			 June 2007 1,700 2,248 1,801 1,740 2,211 1,046 777 
			 July 2007 1,919 2,540 2,078 2,039 2,392 1,170 823 
			 August 2007 1,634 2,480 1,872 1,986 2,169 1,033 858 
			 September 2007 1,280 1,944 1,682 1,659 1,899 877 621 
			 October 2007 1,663 2,440 1,937 1,921 2,193 1,083 873 
			 November 2007 1,841 2,531 2,025 2,010 2,309 1,155 896 
			 December 2007 1,327 1,971 1,543 1,578 1,814 882 689 
			  Source: Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Landlord possession claims issued in the county courts of England and Wales, broken down by region, 2005-07 
			   London  Midlands  North East  North West  South East  South West  Wales 
			 January 2005 2,656 2,097 1,652 1,810 2,038 1,074 611 
			 February 2005 3,920 2,501 1,842 2,074 2,683 1,271 750 
			 March 2005 3,966 2,316 1,860 1,959 2,429 1,177 647 
			 April 2005 3,483 2,282 1,936 1,928 2,295 1,216 563 
			 May 2005 3,068 2,021 1,583 1,705 1,916 1,264 640 
			 June 2005 3,860 2,501 1,720 2,056 2,595 1,438 786 
			 July 2005 3,633 2,435 1,748 1,860 2,217 1,209 794 
			 August 2005 3,573 2,537 1,973 1,814 2,381 1,193 808 
			 September 2005 3,681 2,272 1,772 2,063 2,350 1,327 827 
			 October 2005 3,686 2,303 1,859 1,952 2,327 1,226 674 
			 November 2005 3,827 2,297 1,685 2,214 2,397 1,342 806 
			 December 2005 3,430 2,150 1,828 1,365 2,061 1,103 526 
			 January 2006 3,349 2,258 1,895 1,861 2,519 1,208 757 
			 February 2006 3,778 2,289 1,959 2,046 2,591 1,340 750 
			 March 2006 4,029 2,307 2,035 1,939 2,667 1,274 903 
			 April 2006 3,120 1,789 1,485 1,507 1,885 910 443 
			 May 2006 3,289 2,024 1,623 1,851 2,222 1,136 658 
			 June 2006 3,603 2,381 2,031 1,837 2,478 1,151 843 
			 July 2006 3,484 2,156 1,820 . 2,017 2,388 1,023 663 
			 August 2006 4,074 2,268 1,887 1,898 2,399 1,395 776 
			 September 2006 3,114 2,150 1,892 1,790 2,187 1,124 727 
			 October 2006 3,491 1,842 1,879 1,749 2,217 1,099 652 
			 November 2006 3,005 1,696 1,701 1,715 2,046 1,089 545 
			 December 2006 2,558 1,514 1,355 ' 1,301 1,943 910 500 
			 January 2007 2,964 1,951 1,806 1,581 2,268 1,186 667 
			 February 2007 2,984 2,011 1,662 1,666 2,180 1,000 587 
			 March 2007 3,176 2,224 1,767 1,710 2,135 1,060 706 
			 April 2007 2,651 1,580 1,319 1,337 1,802 905 458 
			 May 2007 3,250 1,937 1,621 1,725 2,181 1,003 615 
			 June 2007 3,654 1,958 1,654 1,511 2,285 1,103 694 
			 July 2007 3,431 2,026 1,937 1,826 2,194 1,043 649 
			 August 2007 3,410 2,248 1,638 1,729 2,411 1,153 630 
			 September 2007 2,899 1,944 1,522 1,617 2,050 1,003 564 
			 October 2007 3,652 2,159 1,805 1,867 2,447 1,163 657 
			 November 2007 3,401 2,032 1,584 1,755 2,344 1,098 663 
			 December 2007 2,429 1,609 1,320 1,270 1,759 806 512 
			  Source:  Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	—continued
	
		
			  Table 3: Mortgage( 1)  possession orders made in the county courts of England and Wales, broken down by region, 2005-07( 2) 
			   London  Midlands  North East  North West 
			   Outright Orders( 3)  Suspended( ) Orders( 4)  Outright Orders( 3)  Suspended( ) Orders( 4)  Outright Orders( 3)  Suspended( ) Orders( 4)  Outright Orders( 3)  Suspended( ) Orders( 4) 
			 January 2005 355 424 397 497 275 384 228 318 
			 February 2005 463 538 351 477 222 302 247 355 
			 March 2005 429 434 412 491 265 375 253 370 
			 April 2005 561 519 478 624 355 474 321 429 
			 May 2005 517 512 418 609 370 483 338 420 
			 June 2005 635 664 599 630 356 486 373 461 
			 July 2005 481 436 412 573 367 432 352 394 
			 August 2005 607 590 628 732 363 481 399 493 
			 September 2005 745 663 599 702 428 516 445 510 
			 October 2005 644 579 532 609 417 472 380 420 
			 November 2005 619 649 589 630 468 498 431 504 
			 December 2005 565 481 528 600 393 457 305 369 
			 January 2006 606 575 777 687 519 632 471 563 
			 February 2006 730 649 626 659 408 418 452 453 
			 March 2006 719 642 692 681 530 565 510 596 
			 April 2006 525 469 606 630 470 477 353 541 
			 May 2006 737 616 774 697 554 630 540 498 
			 June 2006 760 613 802 892 517 580 642 675 
			 July 2006 736 589 726 756 618 660 471 512 
			 August 2006 733 615 782 705 588 585 608 580 
			 September 2006 696 552 873 819 627 710 619 596 
			 October 2006 815 571 715 670 589 597 612 595 
			 November 2006 707 552 780 741 617 619 661 596 
			 December 2006 534 471 663 648 606 494 560 509 
			 January 2007 904 691 952 820 710 651 634 598 
			 February 2007 650 535 714 678 565 541 645 593 
			 March 2007 646 510 749 732 725 689 612 566 
			 April 2007 610 477 677 655 573 546 572 534 
			 May 2007 746 550 756 719 637 615 661 593 
			 June 2007 705 524 794 738 766 562 699 625 
			 July 2007 635 463 868 744 713 619 695 602 
			 August 2007 598 505 851 753 640 460 677 596 
			 September 2007 673 487 1,076 872 713 601 669 540 
			 October 2007 648 450 1,007 809 800 628 794 710 
			 November 2007 592 498 863 826 643 611 710 694 
			 December 2007 537 438 762 622 560 486 522 527 
		
	
	
		
			   South East  South West  Wales 
			   Outright Orders( 3)  Suspended( ) Orders( 4)  Outright Orders( 3)  Suspended( ) Orders( 4)  Outright Orders( 3)  Suspended( ) Orders( 4) 
			 January 2005 434 578 211 286 99 132 
			 February 2005 355 507 198 274 89 121 
			 March 2005 464 653 199 312 116 185 
			 April 2005 636 751 201 295 152 217 
			 May 2005 597 693 278 305 153 174 
			 June 2005 650 682 285 290 177 197 
			 July 2005 684 709 281 315 140 182 
			 August 2005 614 745 342 418 172 203 
			 September 2005 730 784 290 362 188 200 
			 October 2005 665 741 281 361 159 212 
			 November 2005 663 712 246 288 192 200 
			 December 2005 554 619 256 244 152 133 
			 January 2006 797 799 319 382 188 213 
			 February 2006 684 709 310 303 160 216 
			 March 2006 759 819 318 400 216 211 
			 April 2006 688 655 286 280 184 210 
			 May 2006 729 701 317 353 239 207 
			 June 2006 756 756 358 387 246 209 
			 July 2006 742 690 320 354 229 227 
			 August 2006 833 790 379 368 246 233 
			 September 2006 821 785 391 352 282 261 
			 October 2006 719 613 348 324 263 256 
			 November 2006 936 799 356 331 269 257 
			 December 2006 582 531 299 280 214 200 
			 January 2007 1052 788 399 337 291 305 
			 February 2007 705 595 286 273 181 168 
			 March 2007 747 743 417 380 286 256 
			 April 2007 746 651 334 267 214 227 
			 May 2007 789 600 315 328 244 254 
			 June 2007 861 669 409 336 253 236 
			 July 2007 869 657 366 309 300 264 
			 August 2007 831 624 369 299 241 200 
			 September 2007 841 638 448 329 302 218 
			 October 2007 956 793 361 297 363 318 
			 November 2007 796 704 399 320 298 294 
			 December 2007 630 537 317 282 235 251 
			 (1) Mortgage possession data include all types of lenders whether local authority or private. (2) The rollout of the Possession Claim On-Line (PCOL) system in late 2006 has affected the availability of court-level data on mortgage possession orders. As a result figures for 2007 are estimated at HMCS regions. (3) The court grants the claimant possession but suspends the operation of the order. Provided the defendant complies with the terms of suspension, which usually requires the defendant to pay the current mortgage instalments plus some of the accrued arrears, the possession order cannot be enforced. (4) The court, following a judicial hearing, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction.  Source: Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Landlord( 1)  possession orders made in the county courts of England and Wales, broken down by region, 2005-07( 2) 
			   London  Midlands  North East  North West 
			   Outright Orders( 3)  Suspended Orders( 4)  Outright Orders( 3)  Suspended Orders( 4)  Outright Orders( 3)  Suspended Orders( 4)  Outright Orders( 3)  Suspended Orders( 4) 
			 January 2005 1377 871 633 942 586 979 572 953 
			 February 2005 1131 788 586 996 549 710 435 715 
			 March 2005 1142 697 635 960 552 845 465 842 
			 April 2005 1386 858 690 1066 642 889 624 947 
			 May 2005 1217 739 705 926 549 739 501 727 
			 June 2005 1436 780 764 1049 586 844 564 823 
			 July 2005 1367 733 697 865 540 693 534 679 
			 August 2005 1375 831 689 1094 582 788 538 741 
			 September 2005 1274 732 766 1043 546 663 582 858 
			 October 2005 1406 813 756 995 665 818 564 803 
			 November 2005 1465 743 709 992 618 807 527 895 
			 December 2005 1235 623 571 840 529 683 443 601 
			 January 2006 1402 733 805 1076 589 858 577 852 
			 February 2006 1342 850 657 829 514 649 522 700 
			 March 2006 1335 734 762 1047 591 811 561 790 
			 April 2006 1222 645 563 710 539 672 424 566 
			 May 2006 1380 728 702 881 605 909 552 656 
			 June 2006 1458 640 807 893 645 646 588 719 
			 July 2006 1476 595 668 750 621 659 513 633 
			 August 2006 1669 731 744 810 659 702 610 650 
			 September 2006 1390 586 892 936 651 654 608 564 
			 October 2006 1373 481 738 788 719 676 622 673 
			 November 2006 1474 501 816 834 662 657 684 603 
			 December 2006 1140 391 518 599 635 578 545 595 
			 January 2007 1742 651 787 728 709 881 676 632 
			 February 2007 1208 391 735 646 542 545 544 552 
			 March 2007 1466 404 749 720 785 734 695 532 
			 April 2007 1291 458 727 702 618 638 578 514 
			 May 2007 1420 459 680 630 628 543 606 482 
			 June 2007 1716 450 766 761 739 554 662 565 
			 July 2007 1609 410 745 721 739 505 732 576 
			 August 2007 1773 567 916 758 721 570 721 539 
			 September 2007 1368 486 865 804 640 654 633 517 
			 October 2007 1713 610 914 896 759 741 729 657 
			 November 2007 1765 549 902 894 715 622 717 674 
			 December 2007 1260 463 636 616 557 465 532 473 
		
	
	
		
			   South East  South West  Wales 
			   Outright Orders( 3)  Suspended Orders( 4)  Outright Orders( 3)  Suspended Orders( 4)  Outright Orders( 3)  Suspended Orders( 4) 
			 January 2005 794 859 419 482 254 249 
			 February 2005 686 714 379 414 208 264 
			 March 2005 753 956 404 451 234 256 
			 April 2005 836 999 394 428 239 299 
			 May 2005 748 814 368 397 185 222 
			 June 2005 779 722 441 431 254 286 
			 July 2005 806 865 430 422 210 241 
			 August 2005 778 754 445 511 228 352 
			 September 2005 773 831 416 453 312 412 
			 October 2005 816 847 462 466 221 303 
			 November 2005 768 832 403 424 231 341 
			 December 2005 685 742 347 414 179 208 
			 January 2006 806 828 385 453 210 323 
			 February 2006 705 762 345 427 205 267 
			 March 2006 879 888 453 528 221 286 
			 April 2006 722 647 342 320 189 224 
			 May 2006 783 733 356 349 189 289 
			 June 2006 820 726 402 330 216 222 
			 July 2006 831 633 391 309 245 290 
			 August 2006 885 732 419 311 258 334 
			 September 2006 813 591 390 338 273 274 
			 October 2006 836 687 470 301 286 273 
			 November 2006 857 733 435 354 246 278 
			 December 2006 637 559 327 275 239 204 
			 January 2007 1094 934 514 399 302 227 
			 February 2007 812 530 367 313 196 141 
			 March 2007 959 635 421 396 316 231 
			 April 2007 841 547 372 290 236 163 
			 May 2007 913 471 403 271 255 221 
			 June 2007 948 586 474 319 260 176 
			 July 2007 990 560 499 306 270 215 
			 August 2007 1006 565 469 268 253 196 
			 September 2007 978 643 414 324 344 236 
			 October 2007 1068 724 472 319 285 243 
			 November 2007 1096 675 509 356 313 230 
			 December 2007 800 608 334 252 248 194 
			 (1) Landlord possession data include all types of landlord whether local authority, housing associations or private. (2) The rollout of the Possession Claim On-Line (PCOL) system in late 2006 has affected the availability of court-level data on landlord possession orders. As a result figures for 2007 are estimated at HMCS regions. (3) The court grants the claimant possession but suspends the operation of the order. Provided the defendant complies with the terms of suspension, which usually requires the defendant to pay the current rent plus some of the accrued arrears, the possession order cannot be enforced. (4) The court, following a judicial hearing, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction.  Source: Ministry of Justice

Ex-servicemen

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of ex-service personnel were defined as living in absolute poverty in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) England in each year since 1997.

Kevan Jones: The Government do not collect statistics on the number of ex-service personnel living in absolute poverty. Veterans facing difficulties in their civilian lives have access to the free veterans helpline and the Veterans Welfare Service which provide advice and support, as well as to the wider UK benefits offered to those in need.

Ex-servicemen

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many ex-service personnel were defined as living in relative poverty in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) England in each year since 1997.

Kevan Jones: The Government do not collect statistics on the number of ex-service personnel living in relative poverty. Veterans facing difficulties in their civilian lives have access to the free veterans helpline and the Veterans Welfare Service which provide advice and support, as well as to the UK benefits provided for those in need.

Paramilitary Activity

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of levels of paramilitary activity in the Province.

Shaun Woodward: The principal security threat today comes from Dissident republican factions which remain active and dangerous.
	The latest IMC Report has confirmed that PIRA has completely relinquished the leadership and other structures appropriate to a time of armed conflict and that the Army Council is effectively redundant..
	Loyalist groups have made progress but have yet to decommission their arms.

2008 Olympic/Paralympic Games

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the performance of sportsmen and women from Northern Ireland in the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic games.

Paul Goggins: Although I have had no recent discussions with Northern Ireland Ministers on this matter, I understand that the hon. Member for Londonderry East, the Northern Ireland Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure has warmly congratulated all the athletes from Northern Ireland who participated in the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic games in Beijing, and held a reception for all the athletes on 6 October in Parliament buildings.

Powers of Entry

James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what  (a) primary and  (b) secondary legislation sponsored by his Department has (i) amended and (ii) enhanced existing powers of entry since May 1997.

Tom Watson: I refer to the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Mr. Coaker) on 7 October 2008,  Official Report, column 577W.

Surveillance: Local Authorities

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will instruct the Office of the Surveillance Commissioner to assess whether surveillance powers have been used by local authorities to generate income from fines.

Vernon Coaker: The Office of Surveillance Commissioners was established by statute to provide independent oversight of public authorities using covert investigatory powers. It is not appropriate for Ministers to issue instructions to the Office of Surveillance Commissioners. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 local authorities may use directed surveillance for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime or disorder providing it is necessary and proportionate for them to do so.

Higher Education: Admissions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils participated in an Aim Higher programme in each year since 2005, broken down by local authority; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: I have been asked to reply.
	Information is not currently available as requested on the number of pupils participating in aimhigher activities. Information is gathered from aimhigher partnerships via annual monitoring reports. Due to the diversity of activities delivered by partnerships and differences in recording those activities it has not been possible to collate these in a coherent and reliable format. We are currently working with the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) on the design of a new monitoring report which will enable us to gather data in a more consistent way.
	Aimhigher is an important part of the Government's policies to widen participation in higher education amongst people from under-represented groups. Evidence from predecessor programmes shows that the type of activities supported by aimhigher are successful in raising the aspirations of young people towards higher education, and their attainment whilst at school or college.
	The Department, together with HEFCE, is working hard to improve the impact of aimhigher further. Last year, HEFCE published guidance to help aimhigher partnerships target their interventions more effectively on young people from lower socio-economic groups and other priority target groups. More recently, guidance was published on how to develop programmes of interventions to build up commitment, rather than delivering one-off interventions.

Cycling: Facilities

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which indoor BMX tracks are available for public use.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England has advised that as far as they are aware, there are no permanent indoor BMX tracks, of the type suitable for competition racing, available for public use in the UK.

Economic Situation: Families

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what steps his Department has taken to assist families in the current economic climate;
	(2)  what recent steps his Department has taken to assist families in reducing their household bills.

Stephen Timms: On 11 September the Government announced a £1 billion package of energy efficiency measures, including at least 50 per cent. off a range of energy saving measures for all households, with 11usb million of the most vulnerable households qualifying for these free of charge.
	In addition, extra help for the vulnerable this winter will be provided by an increase in cold weather payments, which will triple from £8.50 to £25 for this winter.
	On 2 September the Government announced reforms to the support for mortgage interest (SMI) system—which is paid to people on income support, pension credit and income-based jobseeker's allowance to help meet the interest payments on their mortgage—to more accurately reflect the value of people's property and reduce the waiting time before help from SMI is available. The Government will keep this system of support under review.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given to his question on 14 July 2008 by the Exchequer Secretary,  Official Report, column 140W, and to the answer my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave to the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland (Dr. Kumar) on 17 July 2008,  Official Report, column 631W.

Homelessness

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households registered as homeless there were in each of the last eight quarters, broken down by  (a) local authority and  (b) age of applicant.

Iain Wright: Information about English local housing authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation (Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected quarterly at local authority level. Data collected includes the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty (to secure that suitable accommodation is available). These households are known as 'accepted' households.
	Data on accepted households are provided in our quarterly Statistical Release on Statutory Homelessness, which is published on our website and placed in the Library each quarter. This includes acceptances by local authority, and acceptances by age band of applicant.
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/homelessnessstatistics/publicationshomelessness/
	Acceptances by local authority are published in each quarter's Statistical Release, in the Supplementary Tables. In addition, a table showing these data for the last eight quarters has been placed in the Library.
	Data on the age band of accepted applicants, for the last eight quarters, can be found in Table 10b of the most recent quarterly Statistical Release on Statutory Homelessness, available in the Library. For ease, this table can be found as follows:
	
		
			Acceptances by age of applicant 
			   Total number of households accepted during period  16-24  %  of total  25-44  %  of total  45-59  %  of total  60-64  %  of total  65-74  %  of total  75 and over  %  of total 
			  2006  
			 Quarter 3 19,390 7,940 41 9,130 47 1,700 9 230 1 280 1 110 1 
			 Quarter 4 17,310 7,010 40 8,240 48 1,530 9 200 1 230 1 100 1 
			   
			  2007  
			 Quarter 1 17,230 7,090 41 8,100 47 1,440 9 200 1 240 1 100 1 
			 Quarter 2 15,960 6,520 41 7,510 47 1,450 9 180 1 220 1 90 1 
			 Quarter 3 16,540 6,670 40 7,780 47 1,520 9 220 1 230 1 120 1 
			 Quarter 4 15,240 5,930 39 7,410 49 1,440 9 190 1 180 1 100 1 
			   
			  2008  
			 Quarter 1 15,430 6,130 40 7,400 48 1,470 10 170 1 200 1 70 0 
			 Quarter 2 15,680 6,200 40 7,630 49 1,430 9 170 1 180 1 80 1

Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what proportion of staff in  (a) his Department and  (b) the executive agencies for which he is responsible are disabled; and what the average salary in his (i) Department and (ii) executive agencies is of (A) full-time disabled staff, (B) full-time non-disabled staff, (C) part-time disabled staff and (D) part-time non-disabled staff.

Si�n Simon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Watson) on 8 October 2008,  Official Report, column 651W.

Health Professions: Manpower

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many nurses there are in  (a) Chesterfield,  (b) Derbyshire and  (c) England;
	(2)  how many doctors there are in  (a) Chesterfield,  (b) Derbyshire and  (c) England;
	(3)  how many NHS nurses were employed in  (a) Chesterfield,  (b) Derbyshire and  (c) England in each year since 1997;
	(4)  how many NHS doctors were employed in  (a) Chesterfield,  (b) Derbyshire and  (c) England in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The information requested is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  All GPs (excluding retainers and registrars) for selected organisations in England, as at 1997-2007 
			  numbers (headcount) 
			1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  England total 28,046 28,251 28,467 28,593 28,802 29,202 30,358 31,523 32,738 33,091 33,364 
			  
			  Total specified organisations 503 513 508 512 518 545 573 595 607 611 622 
			  
			 QCH North Derbyshire Health Authority (HA) 191 195 199 193 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 QCJ South Derbyshire HA 312 318 309 319 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 5N7 Derby City PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 142 143 149 154 155 159 161 
			 5N6 Derbyshire County PCT(1) n/a n/a n/a n/a 376 402 424 441 452 452 461 
		
	
	
		
			  All practice nurses for selected organisations in England, as at 1997-2007 
			  numbers (headcount) 
			1997( 2)  1998( 2)  1999( 2)  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  England total n/a n/a n/a 19,200 19,846 20,983 21,667 22,144 22,904 23,797 22,860 
			  
			  Total specified organisations n/a n/a n/a 351 351 385 377 433 422 456 486 
			  
			 QCH North Derbyshire HA n/a n/a n/a 128 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 QCJ South Derbyshire HA n/a n/a n/a 223 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 5N7 Derby City PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 112 122 123 132 129 132 135 
			 5N6 Derbyshire County PCT(1) n/a n/a n/a n/a 239 263 254 301 293 324 351 
			 n/a = Not applicable. (1) In 2006 Amber Valley PCT, Chesterfield PCT, Derbyshire Dales and South Derbyshire PCT, Erewash PCT, High Peak and Dales PCT and North Eastern Derbyshire PCT merged to form Derbyshire County PCT. Figures prior to 2006 are an aggregate of these six predecessor organisations. (2) Practice nurse headcount figures are not available on the annual census prior to 2000.  Notes: 1. Data for Chesterfield is not available. Data is available for Trusts and PCTs that provide or provided services within the Chesterfield constituency. 2. Data is not available for the specific geographical area of Derbyshire. The data used here is for both PCTs within Derbyshire for comparability as they were formed from the two former health authorities in Derbyshire. 3. Data as at 1 October 1997-99, 30 September 2000-07  Data Quality: Work force statistics are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data. Processing methods and procedures are continually being updated to improve data quality. Where this happens any impact on figures already published will be assessed but unless this is significant at national level they will not be changed. Where there is impact only at detailed or local level this will be footnoted in relevant analyses.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care General and Personal Medical Services Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			  Hospital and community health services (HCHS): medical and dental staff( 1)  within specified organisations in England, 1997-2007 
			  numbers (headcount) 
			1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  England 60,230 62,140 63,994 66,067 68,464 72,168 76,400 82,951 37,043 90,243 91,790 
			  
			 RFS Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 191 202 209 205 229 233 247 260 265 281 306 
			 5N6 Derbyshire County PCT(2) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 50 51 53 53 55 44 
		
	
	
		
			  NHS hospital and community health services: qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff in England by specified organisation, 1997-2007 
			  numbers (headcount) 
			1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  England 300,467 304,563 310,142 316,752 330,535 346,537 364,692 375,371 361,257 374,538 376,737 
			 RFS Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 789 818 823 757 887 907 898 938 1,032 964 975 
			 5N6 Derbyshire County PCT(2) n/a n/a n/a n/a 763 1,276 1,282 1,331 1,394 1,271 1,280 
			 n/a = Not applicable. (1) Figure excludes medical hospital practitioners and medical clinical assistants, most of whom are GPs working part time in hospitals. (2) In 2006 Amber Valley PCT, Chesterfield PCT, Derbyshire Dales and South Derbyshire PCT, Erewash PCT, High Peak and Dales PCT and North-Eastern Derbyshire PCT merged to form Derbyshire County PCT. Figures prior to 2006 are an aggregate of these six predecessor organisations.  Notes: 1. Data for Chesterfield is not available. Data is available for Trusts and PCTs that provide or provided services within the Chesterfield constituency. 2. Data as at 1 October 1997-99, 30 September 2000-07.  Data Quality: Work force statistics are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data. Processing methods and procedures are continually being updated to improve data quality. Where this happens any impact on figures already published will be assessed but unless this is significant at national level they will not be changed. Where there is impact only at detailed or local level this will be footnoted in relevant analyses.  Sources: 1. The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census 2. The Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce. Census